


Behind the Trigger

by itsluckyyou



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 08:08:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19826014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsluckyyou/pseuds/itsluckyyou
Summary: What would you do if the person behind the trigger was the one person you'd take a bullet for?





	Behind the Trigger

**Author's Note:**

> This is not Infinity War, Endgame or FFH compliant.

“Alright, buddy, I’m going to need you to calm down and check the east hall for civilians.” Peter heard the voice of his mentor come through his suit. He glanced down towards where Iron Man was fighting off 6 drones and hesitated for a few seconds before sighing and following orders. He had to trust that Tony was fine and didn’t need him to do anything but clear the hall.

With one more glance down, he shot a web and flew towards where his assignment was waiting. To his left, Captain America was getting pummeled by what he could only assume were alien robot dogs. Before he could stop to help, he saw Black Widow joining and thought better of it. He had _one_ job for now and that was to make sure that nobody got hurt. Although, he was sure that helping his team was also just as important. But for now, they seemed to have it under control.

With the fight behind him, he landed gracefully in the hallway of a building he had only ever seen in pictures. Quickly, he started walking through the hall, checking each apartment carefully but also as fast as possible. There were really cool alien robot dogs that he’d like to at least see up close.

He was almost at the end of the hall when he noticed a small figure to his left in the kitchen of one of the studios. A while back, Aunt May had considered moving into these apartments with Uncle Ben but couldn’t afford to even entertain the thought after Peter unexpectedly joined the household. And then, well, after Ben’s death, they definitely couldn’t afford it. Shaking the thought from his head, Peter approached the figure carefully. Children were easily spooked after all.

“Hey little guy. I’m Pe-. Uh, Spiderman.” Peter started, a little confused when the boy or girl didn’t immediately turn at the sound of another voice. “Uh, maybe you haven’t actually heard of me. I’m not as famous as the others… you know, I don’t even, I can’t, I don’t know if I’m part of them but I’m kinda friends with the Avengers and I _know_ you’ve heard of _them_.”

The kid was still facing the window, looking out towards where he knew the rest of the team was fighting off whatever aliens had decided to come down to earth… again. Peter wondered if they’d even know about the planet, or care enough about it to try to invade if it hadn’t have been for the Avengers in the first place. Probably not. Well, maybe. There was so much about space that Peter didn’t know and the fact that he was expected to fight it was kind of unnerving without the least bit of information.

“Kid?” Peter approached and touched the child on the shoulder. He was expecting the action to cause the kid to turn around and face him, but instead, Peter seemed to have been transported to another time or place or dimension. He couldn’t be sure.

Breathing deeply, he walked through another dark hallway, the kid nowhere to be found. Suddenly, he was finding it hard to breathe, as if water had filled the room and he was drowning. Only, he could see that it hadn’t. He started running in any direction, although it was hard to tell what was left and what was right. But he picked up his speed nonetheless and just hoped he didn’t run into anything.

Without a warning, his legs gave out and he fell towards the ground except the ground didn’t stop him. Maybe it had never been there in the first place. Whatever the case, he was falling downward at a fast pace. “Karen! What is happening?!”

When there was no answer, Peter haphazardly shot webs in any and every direction. When none stuck, he tried again, “ _Karen_ , look I know that I _always_ – and I mean _always_ – say no when you ask if you should call Mr. Stark, but I uh… I need help.”

“Oh, kid” Someone said sarcastically and Peter frantically searched around for where the noise could possibly be coming from. It was pitch black. “They shouldn’t have let you participate.”

Peter coughed, taking a deep breath before muttering, “I’m not a _kid.”_

“Peter Parker. 16 years old. Queens, New York.” The voice recited calmly, but with an edge to her voice as if slightly inconvenienced by needing to state the kid’s Biography. “Intern to Tony Stark. Spider… _man_. Parents died 6 years ago. Nephew of May and Ben Parker.”

“Okay, _okay._ ” Peter grunted while putting a hand to his chest still feeling the sensation that he couldn’t breathe. _Why couldn’t he breathe?_ “I… What… Why… I mean.”

“I advice you spit out whatever stupid questions you have because I’m afraid time isn’t really on your side at this precise moment.”

Peter thought for a moment. There were hundreds of questions flying through his head. _What did that mean? Was he going to die? Why was he doing this? What did he want?_ All questions, although important, seemed too cliché to voice. Whoever this was was clearly powerful and intelligent and while it was a mundane worry, he still didn’t want the voice to think Peter was stupid.

“How are you doing this?” Peter managed. The pressure on his neck increased and he was brought to his knees. Inhaling sharply, he looked upwards in hopes that maybe he could find a light source. When there was none to be found, he closed his eyes once more. He couldn’t remember when he had stopped falling and found the ground again.

“Technology that your planet is decades away from.” The voice answered. Peter was amazed by how casual this conversation seemed to be. It was like he was talking to an old friend.

“What do you want from me?”

When Peter was met with silence, he started to panic. The pressure released from his throat and he only felt his own presence. While it was nice to breathe, he still wasn’t relieved. Nobody was around, at least as far as he could tell. Karen wasn’t answering. Mr. Stark wasn’t around. He had nobody. At least when he had been crushed by the building, he could still _see._

He stood up and did the only thing he could think to do. He started jogging and tried his webs once more. This time, they stuck and he was flying through the air in no time. To his left, he heard a loud explosion. _What was happening?_

“Alright, Pete,” The voice returned and Peter jumped in surprise. “it’s your time to shine.”

“My time to _what_ now?”

As if by some miracle, the world brightened. He winced as the light entered his pupils, not remembering when he had taken his mask off. Quickly, he pulled it back down. Blinking, he was surprised to find himself outside of the East Hall.

“Kid, what are you doing?” He heard someone ask and turned to see Iron Man standing in front of him. Well, hovering in front of him. Peter blinked a few more times and looked around. He wasn’t in the East Hall, he knew that, but he couldn’t figure out how he had gotten _here_. He was standing on the ledge of the observation deck within The Empire State Building. Tony was in front of him, but there was a wall of drones between them. Beneath him was – well, the ground. Peter inhaled deeply and swallowed harshly. Why was everything always so _high_?

“ _Kid,”_ Mr. Stark repeated sternly.

“I-I-I don’t.. I’m not sure.” Peter answered honestly, jumping when someone landed behind him. He didn’t turn around, but he watched as Mr. Stark held out a hand as if to stop whoever it was from hurting him. “Mr. Stark, what’s- I mean, did we _win?”_

Tony removed his mask and calmly said, “No, kid, we didn’t.”

“Then why is everybody up here?” Peter asked, motioning towards where almost all of the team was standing, or hovering, behind where Tony was. They were all looking at him as if _he_ was an issue.

“Listen buddy, we need to _talk_.” Mr. Stark started but stopped abruptly. Peter looked around trying to figure out why until he looked down and saw himself holding the Septre and was pointing it at some sort of contraption just a few yards away.

Peter’s breathing picked up and he looked at Tony with frantic eyes. Peter tried to release his grip, but couldn’t. His fingers weren’t listening to him. It was like the day he discovered his new abilities. “Mr. Stark, what’s _happening?_ ”

“Focus, Peter.” Another voice interrupted his conversation and he looked around frantically to see if he could find the source. When he couldn’t, he shook his head and refocused on his mentor who was looking at him carefully. Thor, from where he was previously watching on an adjacent building, made a move towards the duo and Peter, without the ability to stop himself, found himself pointing the Septre at the God.

“Stop!” Tony screamed, turning to face Thor as opposed to Peter. “Something’s _wrong_.”

“Yeah, your protégé is a traitor.” Ant man said and Peter turned to see that he, too, was watching from a nearby building.

Peter’s eyes welled with tears as he turned to face his mentor once more. He wasn’t a traitor. He would _never_ hurt Mr. Stark or any of The Avengers. They meant too much to him – to the Earth as a whole. To harm them was never, and would never been on his agenda. “Mr. Stark-.”

“What happened in the East Hall?” Tony asked and Peter thought back, but remained quiet. He couldn’t explain it and didn’t want Mr. Stark to think he couldn’t handle this job.

A voice in his head laughed and he quickly put his hands to his head in hopes of drowning it out. The Septre lit up with the motion.

“Buddy _,”_ Tony tried, approaching the kid ever so slightly. When the Septre started to vibrate, he stopped approaching. “ _Peter.”_

Peter opened his eyes and stared at the man. “I don’t-I can’t stop it, Mr. Stark.”

“Look, this kid is a threat.” He heard a voice say but didn’t recognize it enough to be able to pinpoint who it was.

“The rabbit is right.” Thor confirmed and Peter whimpered, begging Tony to take pity- to fix it. Mr. Stark had to fix _this._ “He could destroy everything with that thing.”

“Alright kid,” The voice practically shouted, taking Peter aback and causing him to shut his eyes in pain. His head was really starting to hurt.

“What’s wrong Pete?” Tony asked, causing Peter to open his eyes again. “You gotta tell me what’s happening, buddy. I can’t help if you don’t tell me.”

“There’s-there’s a voice in my-my head.” Peter tried to explain, putting his hands to his ears as laughter filled his head. “Mr. Stark, it won’t stop.”

“Tony, there’s no time for this.” A woman’s voice said and Peter knew it was Black Widow. He had met her as Peter a few weeks back and she had been a pivotal mentor for her. “You need to make a decision now.”

“She’s right, Tony.” Dr. Banner interjected. Peter gave up trying to find where they were all watching from so he stayed there, eyes locked on Mr. Stark’s, filling with tears. “This could mean the death of millions.”

“Billions.” Thor corrected, still standing a building away.

“I’m not hurting the kid!” Tony shouted, trying his best to think of any solution that could possibly work. “I made a promise.”

Peter heard Black Widow scoff, before Captain America decided it was time to provide his input. “Tony’s right. We can’t hurt the kid.”

Tony kept his gaze on Peter. “Something happened in the East Hall, didn’t it?” Peter nodded. “What happened?”

“There-There was a kid and- and h-he wouldn’t look at me b-but I thought-well I tried to help him – save him, you know- from the robot _things_ but he- or she – wouldn’t… move and there was no – I thought there was no time and -.”

“What is it with you and rambling?” The voice returned, louder than ever. Peter looked around, the Septre lighting up and seemingly charging with every motion. “We don’t have _time_ for this?”

Peter looked at Tony only to find him still staring back at him, unphased by the other voice. “D-don’t you _hear_ that?”

“Hear what kid?”

“Th-the voice!” Peter yelled, the increased volume of his voice causing the Septre to release a high pitch tone that the rest of the team heard and sprung into action. Thor jumped from his spot and landed just a few feet away from where Peter was standing. “M-Mr. Stark? I’m scared.”

“I know kid, but it’s going to be okay. We’re not going to hurt you.” Tony stated, putting himself between Peter and Thor. He turned so he could face the God, “We’re _not_ going to hurt him.”

“Tony, he’s-.” Thor started only to be interrupted by a scream that sent shivers down Tony’s spine. The two Avengers turned just in time to see Peter, with the Septre in hand, walking towards the radio tower that had been placed on the building by one of the space ships. Peter seemed to be putting effort into stopping himself from moving his feet, but he was losing the fight.

“M-Mr. Stark!” Peter screamed, his eyes burning as he looked into the orb that was radiating blue light. “I c-can’t stop! You need to do something.”

“ _Tony!_ ” Black Widow yelled, along with Steve and Peter looked towards Tony, the tears in his eyes still present.

Peter shut his eyes as Tony aimed his repulsor at Peter. Still, Peter was unable to figure out why it had been him. Why was this happening to _him?_ He wasn’t an important member of the Avengers. Actually, he wasn’t sure if he _was_ a member of the team, which solidified his feeling that he definitely wasn’t an important one. He’d even put Ant Man before himself and that guy was hardly any help, at least as far as Peter had seen.

_“_ Because, hurting you hurts Tony _.”_ The voice said and it took Peter a second to figure out what question the voice was answering. As far as he could tell, he had never opened his mouth. “Dying at the hand of his son.”

“I’m _not_ his son.” Peter spat, turning around to shoot a web with his free hand. It seemed to hold him back at least slightly and he figured the action would help the team to know that he _wasn’t_ the traitor half of the thought he was.

“Oh, look at you taking a stand. Richard and Mary would be so proud.” The voice cooed sarcastically. Peter screamed as his web started to break. He needed to hold on just a bit longer until someome came up with a plan. _Any plan._ How was nobody hearing this but him?

“It’s _not nice_ to hijack someone’s _brain._ ” Peter spat, turning to see Tony still hovering there holding his repulsor towards him. Peter swallowed but held his ground, something that he hoped made Mr. Stark proud. Thor was still standing there ready to fight him if it came to that. He smiled thinking about how Ned would react to hearing about how he had almost made an enemy of the God.

The web broke and Peter was thrust forward with speed – too much speed. He tried to catch his balance long enough to shoot another web, but failed, and through his stumbles he was unable to plant his feet with enough force to slow himself down. With each step, he could hear Thor and Tony getting closer, the two arguing over what to do.

“You know what?” The voice asked as Peter clenched his teeth, and tried with every last fiber of his being to stop moving. He was only feet from the radio by this time and could feel Thor’s presence. He’d never had anyone hit him with a magic hammer before but he was not excited for the pain. “On second thought, it’d be even more sad if he was the one who had to kill _you.”_

“M-Mr. Stark?” Peter asked as his feet finally stopped moving, seconds from where the radio tower was. “It-It’s… Well, it said th-that it’s going to m-make you kill me.”

“Not going to happen, kid.” Tony muttered confidently moments before Peter thudded the end of the Septre onto the ground. A force was released from the impact and Thor fell to the ground, along with, Tony presumed to be the rest of the team. At least those with their feet on the ground. Peter stumbled but kept his balance.

Peter whimpered as he looked around, once again, his arm seemed to be interested in connecting the Septre to the radio tower. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen when the two pieces of metal touched, but he was sure that it wasn’t going to be good. The voice laughed and he winced. He was unsure why the voice kept getting louder. Maybe it was the presence of a headache.

He tried once more to put the Septre down, screaming as he willed his fingers to separate from the device. “ _Mr. Stark….”_

He was only slightly surprised when he felt a pulse hit him in the back sending him several yards away from the radio tower again. There was a heat in his back from where the impact had occurred and he winced as he rolled over to stand back up. He could feel blood trickling from his nose and forehead but chose to ignore it as he looked towards his mentor.

“This was easier than I thought.” The voice rang, somewhat softer than it had previously been but still loud. Peter could feel the other Avengers begin to come to and stand up, but he wasn’t sure _how_. “You are expendable to him, Peter. Don’t you _see_ that?”

Peter stood and shook himself off, the pain in his back somewhat manageable but still on his mind. He looked at Tony and couldn’t control the pain that was filling his head. His mentor had fired a shot at him, which yes was justified but it didn’t change the fact that he was able to do it so easily. Without being able to control it, Peter held up the septre, watching as it lit up. Had it not been so dire, Peter would have stopped for a few seconds to admire it.

Tony put both of his hands up, sparking the repulsors to life. Peter watched them glow with the same bright light, wincing as the site penetrated his eyes. He narrowed them and despite his best efforts, stood his ground.

“You alright kid?” Tony called, watching the septre closely. For the moment, it didn’t seem like Peter was going to fire it.

Peter allowed a small, but pained laugh to escape his lips. “Surprised that’s the first time you shot me.”

“Let’s see it again, then.” The voice said. Peter braced himself as the septre began to glow angrily. Without much hesitation, if any at all, Tony fired the repulsors, sending Peter flying backwards into the ledge of the building. He groaned, losing more breath than he expected. He pulled his mask off and looked at Tony with something that he hoped seemed brave but was pretty sure came off as more of a pained grimace because Tony sighed. Peter shut his eyes tightly as he felt himself stand. Not only was his back hurting, but now he felt as though his ankle was on fire. He looked down and noticed it was slightly swollen. “ _Fuck._ Mr. Stark, that fucking _hurts._ ”

“Language, kid.” Captain spoke as Tony muttered a quick apology.

Peter looked up and saw his mentor land on the building’s roof, standing just a few yards away from him. He removed his mask once more to reveal a pair of sad eyes looking into his. Peter had to look away. This was his fault. Peter’s fault.

The septre rose again, lighting up only slightly. “He _owns_ you, Peter. If you die, he’ll find another Spider-Man.” The voice was softer now and if he didn’t know any better, he could’ve sworn he heard the faint sound of static, like when he was in his aunt’s old car and-.

“Mr. Stark!” Peter screamed before he heard the noise of metal clanging in his head. As if he hadn’t learned anything from the last time he tried, Peter tried to block the sound by bringing both of his hands to his head. When it didn’t help, and the sounds continued, Peter fell to the ground and screamed in agony. This was _so_ much worse than anything he had experienced before.

“Kid, what’s –?” Tony started, but from where Peter was kneeling on the ground, he held up the septre. He could hear the voices of the rest of his team beginning to find their ways up to the roof, but couldn’t take his attention off of where Peter was whimpering. With Thor already being _on_ the roof, Tony knew he didn’t have much time before someone tried to harm the kid – _his_ kid.

Peter opened his eyes determined to help Mr. Stark and the rest of his heroes in any way that he possible could. When he did, though, his world was black once again, but not entirely. It was as if the edges of his vision danced with color from the outside world. He tried to call out to his mentor once more but couldn’t hear the sound of his own voice. He couldn’t hear _anything._

“M-Mister S-Stark.” He called out, hoping beyond anything else that maybe his mentor could hear him. Maybe if he just tried hard enough.

Tony watched, his repulsors drawn as the septre lit up. Sighing, he shot the ledge behind the boy and watched as the momentum of the shots flung the kid backwards into the air and towards the ground. “Rhodey, you got him?”

He ran to the ledge and watched as his best friend grabbed the boy, septre still in his hand back towards the roof. Peter blinked, noticing that a larger portion of his vision had cleared up. He blinked a few times. Something must have happened because he was now flying _towards_ Tony, although he wasn’t sure how.

“Stupid man…” The voice practically whispered as his vision went dark again, except the edges.

“Kid, if you can hear me, some confirmation would be great.” Tony muttered as Peter was returned safely to the roof. The kid still had his mask off and Tony was confronted directly with the damage he had done with his repulsors. Thor was standing beside him and Rhodes landed a few yards behind them. Peter stood in front of them, no longer writhing in pain but with a blank look on his face. “ _Peter.”_

Peter tried his best to focus on the corners of his vision. It was causing his headache to worsen, but it was the least he could do after he had messed up so royally. He could vaguely make out the appearance of his boots on the ground – he could pretty safely assume he was back on the roof, which is not where he _wanted_ to be.

He heard a familiar voice saying his name, but it was faint and muffled. He wanted to cry, but he wasn’t even sure if he _could._ Nothing seemed to be in his control. Everything was slipping and he wasn’t sure what his body was doing or if he’d ever be able to reclaim it. He wasn’t even sure he wanted it back since surely Tony wasn’t going to be able to hold off the rest of the Avengers by himself for long. He couldn’t hear or see them anymore, but Peter knew they were there. They had to be. If they weren’t there preparing to kill him, then they were failing the people of earth.

Peter wanted to fall to his knees, to curl up on the ground and just cry until he could open his eyes and it would be over, but from where he could see his feet, he knew they were still standing strong. “I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, Peter, this isn’t your fault.” The voice interrupted his thoughts, still filled with some static, but present nonetheless. “You flatter yourself too much.”

As he stood there, he heard his mentor say, “It’s not your fault, kid. _I’m_ sorry.”

Peter gasped. He had been heard, or maybe it was just an insanely convenient coincidence, but it was still _hope._ Peter heard the sound of metal once more and screamed, his head being unable to take the loudness of it all. “Th-The R-.”

He could see his feet moving forwards and with every step the visual part of his world shrunk while the noise got louder. Being able to see his feet made it somewhat easier to control his movements, so he pushed back. He tried to sling webs but without his visual field, he was unable to confirm with any certainty that he was executing _anything_.

“M-Mr. Stark, you need to-. The _radio._ ” The noise was piercing and suddenly the world was no longer black anymore. Instead, he was on a beach, the Spider-Man suit still on. There was a figure standing, facing the ocean. Peter walked towards it. “Uncle Ben.” He whispered.

“Peter.” The man breathed out as he turned around. “I was wondering when I’d see you”

Peter felt tears start to fill his eyes and roll down his cheeks, but he didn’t put any effort into wiping them away. With Uncle Ben as a distant memory and with as much chaos as there was in his life, he was unable to remember how much he missed the man that was standing in front of him.

“Peter, this could be yours _all_ of the time, if you just _stop fighting.”_

Peter wanted that more than anything. Everything these days was a fight and he was just so tired. He fought with Mr. Stark _so often,_ the man claiming that he was just being protective, and Peter was exhausted from always disappointing him. He fought to keep good grades while fighting petty crime every night of the week. He fought with Aunt May over said grades.

_Aunt May._

She couldn’t handle this level of heartbreak – not again. Peter swallowed, taking a step away from Uncle Ben, the man frowning as he watched. With every step backwards Peter took, Uncle Ben seemed to get angrier and angrier until his fists were clenched and he was charging towards Peter.

“NO!” Peter screamed, falling backwards as his uncle caught up to him, holding him down. From what Peter remembered, his uncle shouldn’t be able to hold him down but Peter was unable to stand up. The man’s face held an anger Peter had never seen on him before. The man’s eyes narrowed as he brought his hands up to Peter’s throat.

“You’ve disappointed me, son.” The man said bringing more tears to Peter’s eyes. A bubble formed in Peter’s throat and he found himself unable to speak. The edges of his vision returned and he could see a clear sky up above him. He narrowed his eyes and gulped.

“You’re not real!”

“Peter.”

“You’re not _real!”_ Peter repeated over and over again, his vision eventually going black. He tried to breathe but was unable to do so. His lungs were _trying_ too hard to fill up with no luck.

“Peter – _Kid_. Open your eyes.”

Peter did as he was told, somewhat expecting to see his decomposing uncle standing above him. Instead, he was face to face with Tony Stark, who was looking at him with wide eyes. Peter was lying down and jumped up when he noticed where he was. The area around him was covered in tiny pieces of metal and he looked around to see that the tower was no longer there. He continued to breathe heavily, turning in circles trying to figure out what happened and _how._

“Kid – _kid_.” Tony interrupted, sighing as Peter’s frantic and panicked eyes met his own. “We lost you there for a minute and I am not explaining to your aunt _hottie_ that you passed out after we got you back so you _need_ to calm down.”

Peter blinked and tried to swallow. Come to think about it, he was starting to get dizzy. He decided that it’d be best to sit back down. “B-but _how_?”

“How we destroyed the radio or how we knew to?”

“It-it was – It had my-my brain!” Peter whimpered, leaning down and putting his head into his hands. “Wh-where di-id it go?”

Tony looked over the kid trying to decide if it was the best idea to inform him of the alien being’s mechanisms but ultimately decided that if he and the kid had switched places, he’d want to know. “When you touched him, he was able to link your conscious to his. When we destroyed the tower, we destroyed the signal that was blocking the guy’s location.”

Peter closed his eyes and tried to think. “How did you know?”

“About the radio?” Tony asked. When the boy nodded, he smiled a little. “Well, your smart ass was screaming it repeatedly while spazzing out with that septre.”

“Oh _no_.”

“You nearly shot Cap out of the sky.” Tony laughed, before pointing to a hole in his suit. “Shot me once or twice.”

“I’m so sorry.” Peter managed to say, shaking his head.

Tony laughed. “I mean, I shot at you a few times so let’s just consider us even, okay?” Peter nodded, his eyes still looking like a lost puppy. Tony felt his heart break. “And as far as Cap is concerned, his little friend that he invited to join tried to kill me, so that makes _us_ even.”

Peter breathed a sigh of relief and allowed himself to fall backwards so that he was now lying on the floor instead of sitting up. He couldn’t pinpoint a single part of his body that _didn’t_ hurt. Tony moved so that he could pick the kid up and get out of there, but the boy protested with a sharp inhalation.

“Is-I mean, am I… like is he… you know, gone?” Peter asked, the volume of his voice surprising even him. “Like forever?”

“The rest of the gang left to find him. Once the radio stopped transmitting, we were able to get a better look at heat signatures. Since you’re now fully awake, I’m assuming that they were successful.”

Peter sighed and rested once again. “Oh.”

Tony reached down and picked the boy up, sliding the kid’s mask back over his face just in case. Peter allowed him to do so, not opening his eyes. “Hey kid. How did you know?”

“Know what?”

“About the radio. If he was affecting your thoughts, how did you _know_?”

Peter opened his eyes against his most sincere wishes. The light was starting to pulse through his head and he could feel a migraine coming on. He tended to vomit with migraines and felt it best not to vomit on his mentor’s suit – especially after almost destroying it with an alien weapon.

“Well, my aunt has this like _ancient_ car and there’s a program on it that uses different radio waves and it’s always full of static and I like noticed that every time you pushed me backwards, it was harder to hear the voice and then you pushed me off the roof and at that point, you know, I also couldn’t see, I don’t know if I mentioned that, but I could kinda see the farther I fell and I could hear the world again because you know at that point I definitely couldn’t hear you anymore… or me. Like everything was silent and I was just there.”

Tony nodded, surprised at the kid’s ability to put all of those words into one breath after the trauma he had just faced. As they flew back in silence, Tony thought about the kid’s words, trying to figure out what kind of tech the alien could possibly have used. It was a little odd to the man that an alien race with the technology to make it to earth had to rely on simple radio waves to get what they wanted.

“Peter,”

“Mmhmm?” The kid responded, almost asleep as he succumbed to his injuries and to the comfort that came with being held.

“Your aunt’s car is a 2004 model.”

Peter swallowed and smirked slightly. “Yeah, like I said, _ancient.”_

Tony fought the urge to roll his eyes as he landed by the med bay of the Avenger’s Compound. It seemed that almost everybody had made it back safely at this point. The only ones he couldn’t see were Lang, Rogers and Thor. He assumed the latter two were helping to secure their new enemy. Lang was just… well, Lang was a wild one with his own agenda that he was unashamed to stick to, even if there was a mandatory debriefing.

There was a team of medical professionals waiting for their return and Tony reluctantly placed Peter onto the stretcher. He watched as they rolled Peter’s unconscious body towards the surgery room in order to try to fix as many of the injuries as they could while scanning his brain for any residual effects of the mind washing.

He sighed as Pepper walked up behind him. She was going to yell at him for the mess that he had created downtown, but before she could, he spoke. “I love that kid.”

Pepper smiled. “I know you do.”

“Let’s make one.” Tony suggested, wrapping Pepper in his arms. “A good one. One like the Parker one.”

Pepper pulled away. “Tony, you don’t know what it takes to be a dad.”

“Yeah but I hear it’s a learning process-.”

“ _I’m_ not ready to be a mom-.”

“and I’m a fast learner-.”

“There is so much money that goes into children-.”

“Oh _please_. You would be a great mom. Look what you’ve done with me-.”

“And I know you have money-.”

“Pepper, we can do this.”

“But it also takes time and sacrifice and you-.”

“I’m glad to see you two have grown up and matured since the last time I interrupted one of your conversations.” Rhodes interrupted, causing the two to glance over in his direction. “Fury is on the phone.”

“ _Thanks_ Rhodey.” Tony muttered. “But as you can see, I’m a little busy.”

“I told him you were available to talk.”

“Of course you did.” Tony glared at the man who was putting his mask on to fly away. “We’re not done with this Pepp.”

“Fury is on the phone, Tony.” Pepper shrugged with a smile on her face. “You better answer that.”

He cursed as she walked away from him towards the compound in the direction of the others. Tony smiled to himself as he watched her walk away, thanking every little happenstance that allowed them to be together.

“Stark here.” He answered, glancing towards his team, who seemed to be animatedly telling the stories of their own experiences throughout the day that the others hadn’t been apart of. “Keep it brief, I have a kid to check on.”


End file.
